Off record chat

ABSTRACT

A method and implementing instant messaging processing system are provided in which a user&#39;s presence and on-line status in a chat session are not broadcast to the chat or instant messaging participants until the user chooses to allow or enable such broadcast. Additionally, the user is enabled to selectively exclude other specified users from seeing the user&#39;s on-line status. A “preferences” screen is presented to a user to enable the user to input his or her privacy preferences during a subsequent chat session before the user actually logs-into the chat session. The instant messaging system includes means by which a local instant messaging user is enabled to view all remote users within the chat application who are monitoring the user&#39;s on-line status as a result of having the user included in the remote users&#39; buddy lists, as well as the ability to view the on-line state of those remote users. Further, an “off the record” mode may be selectively enabled by the user to preclude remote users from recording the communications being transmitted during a chat session.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

Subject matter disclosed but not claimed herein is disclosed and claimedin co-pending application Ser. Nos. 10/392,766 and 10/392,767, filed oneven date herewith.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to information processingsystems and more particularly to a methodology and implementation forenabling improved processing functionality within instant messagingsystems.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The existence and continued acceptance and use of the World Wide Web andthe Internet have resulted in many new and useful applications becomingavailable to users of the Internet. One such application which isgrowing in popularity is known as “instant messaging” or “IM”. VariousIM applications are provided from many sources but all such applicationshave many common features.

In general, IM applications enable a user to register with an IM serveron the World Wide Web or other network using the Internet. Suchapplications may also be accessed through other local area and wide areanetworks as well. When a user accesses an IM application, the userinputs the user's personal information together with a useridentification (ID) and a password. The user is then enabled todesignate a user name which the user will use to identify himself orherself in subsequent “chat” sessions or in sending messages to andreceiving messages from other users.

As instant messaging is becoming a very valuable tool for both personaland business communications, it is imperative that it also allows forthe privacy needs of the individual user. The user must have the optionto select his or her on-line visibility without compromising his abilityto use the chat functions, which is not possible in today's legacyapplications. Some of the current chat applications do provide an optionfor “who can see me”, however, a user must (a) start the messagingsoftware, such that everyone can see the user, then (b) reconfigure userpreferences regarding who can see the user. Thus, the user may beexposed for a brief period of time, and even worse, if a user comeson-line only briefly and drops right back off-line, the user would givethe impression to those other on-line participants that the user isavoiding them. There is no current means by which a user is providedwith a standard entry which allows the user to look over the landscapeand make whatever changes the user wishes to make before exposing theuser to the on-line community.

Instant messaging has become an important part of both personal andbusiness communications. Millions of users communicate using instantmessaging systems every day, and as such, functionality and usabilityenhancements are important to the continued success of thiscommunication tool. Instant messaging applications do, however, haveserious flaws and/or shortcomings which must be corrected if they are tocontinue to thrive as a communications vehicle.

One such shortcoming with legacy instant messaging systems is theability of the remote user to record the communications via a“cut-and-paste” or “file save” function. It may be very desirable tocontact an on-line user immediately, yet very undesirable for thatcontacted user to be able to record the conversation.

Thus, there is a need for an improved methodology and system forenabling improved instant message processing in electronic communicationsystems.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In accordance with the present invention, there is provided an instantmessaging system including means by which an “off the record” mode isselectively enabled which prohibits remote users from recording thecommunications being transmitted during a chat session. A “preferences”screen is presented to a user to enable the user to input his or herprivacy preferences during a subsequent chat session before the useractually logs-into the chat session.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

A better understanding of the present invention can be obtained when thefollowing detailed description of a preferred embodiment is consideredin conjunction with the following drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating a system which may be used inan exemplary implementation of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a schematic block diagram illustrating several of the majorcomponents of an exemplary user terminal connected within an InstantMessaging system;

FIG. 3 is an illustration of a display screen which may be used toenable user selection of several user preferences to be applied in userchat sessions in an exemplary embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is an illustration of a display screen which enables a user toselect one of several optional operational enhancements within a chatsession;

FIG. 5 is an illustration of a display screen which enables a user toselect one or more features related to the virtual entry enhancementshown in FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is an illustration of a display screen which enables a user toselect one or more features related to the virtual buddy listenhancement shown in FIG. 4;

FIG. 7 is an illustration of a display screen which enables a user toselect one or more features related to the off-record enhancement shownin FIG. 4;

FIG. 8 is an illustration of a screen display during a chat session;

FIG. 9 is a flow chart of an overall operational sequence available to auser in an exemplary implementation of the present invention;

FIG. 10 is a flow chart illustration of an exemplary implementation ofthe virtual entry feature of the disclosed methodology;

FIG. 11 is a flow chart illustration of an exemplary implementation ofthe reflective buddy list feature of the disclosed methodology;

FIG. 12 is a flow chart illustration of an exemplary implementation ofthe off-record feature of the disclosed methodology;

FIG. 13 is an exemplary implementation of a reflective buddy list orPeer List feature; and

FIG. 14 is an illustration showing the communications flow between theIM client and its associated IM Server.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

It is noted that circuits and devices which are shown in block form inthe drawings are generally known to those skilled in the art, and arenot specified to any greater extent than that considered necessary asillustrated, for the understanding and appreciation of the underlyingconcepts of the present invention and in order not to obfuscate ordistract from the teachings of the present invention.

The various methods discussed herein may be implemented within anycommunication device capable of receiving and transmitting signalsutilized in instant messaging applications and/or chat sessions, overany inter-connection network, including but not limited to the Internetand the World Wide Web. In the present disclosure such devices include,but are not limited to, cellular and other wireless devices, laptop andpersonal computers and also desk top computers connected in local areaor wide area networks. The present discussion will be directed to aserver-based chat application although it is understood that theprinciples involved in the present invention may be applied, inter alia,to all of the above noted receiving and transmitting devices andsystems.

In FIG. 1 there is shown an exemplary system in which the presentinvention may be implemented. The illustration shows several userterminals 109, 111, 113, 115 and 117 which may be interconnected withseveral instant messaging servers 101, 103 and 105 through aninterconnection network 107 such as the Internet. The servers includechat session applications and the individual users terminals alsoinclude chat session programming to enable the users to “chat” with eachother by exchanging communications between servers over theinterconnection network 107. As noted above, the user terminals can be adesktop personal computer (PC) or any information processing device,such as a cellular phone or personal digital assistant device, which maybe connected as shown in FIG. 1 through a hard-wired or wireless systemarrangement.

Several of the major components of the device 101 are illustrated inFIG. 2. A processor circuit 201 is connected to a system bus 203. It isnoted that the processing methodology disclosed herein will apply tomany different bus and/or network configurations and is not limited tothe configuration of the present example. A cache memory device 205 anda system memory unit 207 are also connected to the bus 203. Theexemplary system also includes a system storage devices 209. The systembus 203 is also connected through an input interface circuit 211 to akeypad or keyboard 213 as well as alternate input devices 215 which mayinclude voice and/or stylus input devices. The bus 203 is also coupledto a transmitter/receiver section 217 which enables the receipt andtransmission of digital information. The illustrated system may also becoupled to a network system through the transmitter/receiver section217. The exemplary system also includes a sound subsystem 224. Inputmeans such as a microphone 226 and output means such as speaker 225 mayalso be included to enable a user to communicate with the device usingvoice commands and voiced menu and message playbacks. A video subsystem227, which may include a graphics subsystem, is connected between thebus 203 and a display device 228.

Typically in a chat session, a user logs on to the system and selects a“chat application” to join. When the user joins the selected chatapplication, the fact that the user has joined the chat application istypically “broadcast” to all on-line users or participants who have theuser on their buddy list. The user's display will show a chat screen tothe user. The chat screen includes a chat window which displays all ofthe commentary that is being typed and entered by all of the usersparticipating in the chat session at that time. When a user enters thechat application, the fact that the user has joined the chat session andis now in the chat application appears on all of the screens of all ofthe other participants so that all participants are aware when a newuser joins the chat session. In another window, all of the currentparticipants are displayed and when one of the participants logs off,that fact is also broadcast to all of the remaining participants and theexiting user's name is deleted from the current participants list.

In the exemplary embodiment which is illustrated beginning with FIG. 3,a user is enabled to select certain options before signing into anyselected chat session. As shown, a chat application entry screen 301includes a “Set Chat Options” menu item 303 which may be selected by auser to set certain options prior to entering a chat session. If theuser does not wish to pre-select any available chat options ashereinafter discussed, and use the default or previously set options,the user may select to directly logon to a chat session from the screen301 by checking blocks 305 and 309 and entering the user identification(ID) 307 and the user password 311, respectively. The user may then“point and click” on the “Done” block 315 using a pointer 313. A“Cancel” icon 314 is also displayed to enable the user to cancel thechat application entry process.

When a user selects the “Set Chat Options” 303 item from the ChatApplication Entry screen 301, the “Set Chat Options” screen 401 ispresented. This screen will include a plurality of options 403 which maybe selected by the user prior to signing on to a chat session. Amongother selectable options, the present example includes a “Virtual Entry”option 405, an “Activate Reflective Buddy List” option 407 and/or an“Off-Record Chat” option 409. Any of these options may be selected bychecking off the corresponding block 406, 408 and 410, respectively, andthen pointing and clicking on the “Done” block 411 using the pointer415.

The “Virtual Entry” option 405 will enable a user to enter a chatsession without “being seen”, i.e. without his presence being broadcastto all of the active participants. The names on the users buddy list areread locally without distributing the on-line status of the user andonly after the user has made selections with respect to broadcastbehavior for the current session would the broadcast function beenabled.

The “Activate Reflective Buddy List” 407 option will enable the user tosee which of the participants are currently monitoring the user'son-line status as well as view the current on-line state of those users.This function would not necessitate the local user to add all remotemonitoring users to the user's own buddy list, although that could beone implementation. Rather, in the preferred implementation, the localuser's chat application would be automatically updated with a “peerlink” whenever a remote user added them to their buddy list. Forpurposes of the present disclosure the terms “Reflective Buddy List” and“Peer List” mean the same thing and are used interchangeably. This “PeerList” could then be an optionally viewed part of the chat dialog box, orcould be a pull down menu to be viewed at the local user's discretion.The mechanism for viewing this data would include enquiries placed tothe central server where buddy list status would be recorded and thenpassed to the individuals in question. An exemplary implementation of aPeer List is hereinafter explained in more detail in connection withFIG. 13.

In the “Off-Record” mode, there may be many implementation options. Suchoptions include encryption, disabling of certain remote end functionsduring a secure chat session, (such as cut and paste), embeddedmetadata, or a combination of these. Additionally, the remote user mayor may not be notified ahead of time that off the record mode is set forthe given session.

From screen 401, if a user selects the Virtual Entry option 405, theVirtual Entry screen 501 is presented. This screen enables a user toselect many options related to an invisible or non-broadcastparticipation in a chat application session. In the example, the usermay select to broadcast the user's on-online status to all participants503, and/or to display other participants who are monitoring the user'son-line status via the user's buddy list 505. The user may also selectto broadcast only to specified users 507 or to exclude specified usersfrom seeing the user's on-line status 509. If the user chooses tobroadcast only to specified users 507 or to exclude specified users fromseeing the user's on-line status 509, appropriate pop-up windows 511 and513, respectively, will appear to enable the user to specify or selectappropriate participants in each case. When the user is finished makinghis or her selections, the user may then return to the previous screenby selecting the Done block 515 or the Cancel block 517 whichever isapplicable.

From screen 401, if a user selects the Activate Reflective Buddy Listoption 407, the “Show Reflective Buddy List” screen 601 is presented.From screen 601, a user is enabled to make a selection and have theReflective Buddy List displayed 603, or to have the users who arecurrently monitoring the user's on-line status displayed 605. The useris also enabled to make a selection 607 which is effective todynamically update the user's Reflective Buddy List to include otherswho are adding the user to the others' buddy list. When the user hasmade his selections, or otherwise wishes to return to the previousscreen, the user selects the Done block 609 or the Cancel block 611 asappropriate.

From screen 401, if a user selects the Off-Record Chat option 409, the“Off-Record Options” screen 701 is presented. From the Off-Record screen701, a user is enabled to select one or more options which relate to theability of the other chat participants to copy or record what the useris entering while in the chat application. This feature allows the userto select how the other participants in the chat application see or copywhat information the user is entering. The feature also enables the userto participate in the off-record mode with only a selected group ofparticipants. As shown in FIG. 7, The user may select to use encryption703 while participating in the chat application session in which casethe user's input would be viewed as encrypted to all but certainselected participants which are designated by the user, and to whom theuser's input would not be encrypted. The user may also select aread-only mode 705. Read only mode is effective to disable remote copyfeatures such as record/save session, print and cut/paste for allparticipants. The user may also make selections to disable remote copyfunctions 709, notify participants of the fact that the user is in“Off-Record” status 711 and select other participants for the off-recordmode 713. The selection of participants is accomplished in the exampleby means of a pop-up window 715. Upon completion of screen 701, the usermay select block 717 to implement the selections or the Cancel block 719to return to the previous screen without implementing any changes.

An exemplary chat application screen 801 is illustrated in FIG. 8. Asshown, the displayed screen 801 includes an Options block 802 which maybe selected by a user during a chat session to change the options whichthe user may have previously selected. This could be implemented toenable a user to make changes during a chat session in addition to theoff-line changes made by the user prior to joining the chat session aspreviously discussed in connection with FIG. 3. Other options such as“Exit” are also available. The chat application screen 801 also includesa chat window 803 which typically displays all of the input text 809from all of the users, and indicates which user ID 807 is generating thedisplayed text. The chat window also shows when a new user has joinedthe chat session 811, 813, and when a user has exited the chat session815. The input text is continued 817 so long as input is provided and ascroll bar 819 may be used to scroll the inputs. A user is enabled totype in text in the input block 821 and send that text to the chatserver for distribution to all other participants in the chat session byselecting the Send command 823.

In another area of the chat screen 801, a Participants Window 805, isillustrated. The participants window includes indicia 825, 827representative of each participant in the chat session. The listcontinues 831 to include all participants and a scroll bar 829 may beused to scroll up and down the list.

A Reflective Buddy List (RBL) window 833 is also shown. The RBL window833 is separate from the Participants window 805 or the user's buddylist which is created by the user. The Reflective Buddy List shows theParticipants 835, 837 and 839, who are monitoring the user by means ofincluding the user on the other participants' buddy lists. The list iscontinued 841 as necessary to include all of the “Reflective Buddies” ofthe user.

In FIG. 9, as the chat options processing begins 900, a chat entryscreen 301 is displayed 901. From the chat entry screen, a user maylog-on to a chat session, set options or cancel. If the user cancels 907the application is ended 909. The user may also select to log-on to achat session directly from the chat entry screen by inputting the userID and the user password and pointing to and clicking on the “Done”block. When the user selects the Done block 905, a check is made todetermine if the log-on information is complete 923. If the log-oninformation is not complete, an error message is displayed 924 and theprocessing returns to display the chat entry screen. If the Done block315 is checked and there is no log-on information 906 in the appropriateblocks 307, 311, all selections are saved 908 as default selections andthe application is terminated 909. If it is determined that the log-oninformation is complete 923, then the selected or default chat optionsare retrieved 925 and the user terminal is logged-on to the chat session927 using the options that have previously been selected from thevarious “select options screens”. The user then participates in the chatapplication session 929 and when the user wishes to exit 931, theapplication is terminated 933.

From the Chat Entry Screen 301, if the user selects to “Set Options”903, then the Set Chat Options screen is presented 911. From thisscreen, the user may cancel at any time 913 and be returned to ChatEntry screen 901. The Set Chat Options screen enables the user to selectone or more of three possible enhancement options and more detailedspecific option features. The user may select a Virtual Entry option917, a Reflective Buddy List Option 919 and/or an Off-Record Chat option921. In any case, after the user has made an option selection 917, 919,921, the application calls for a corresponding feature selection routine1001, 1101, 1201, respectively, which correspond to the selectedoptions.

As shown in FIG. 10, the Virtual Entry routine 1001 begins by displaying1003 a Virtual Entry screen (501 FIG. 5). From this screen, a user maychoose to cancel 1005 and be returned to the Chat Options screen 911. Auser is also enabled to select a Selective Broadcast feature 1007 inwhich case the user is presented with a list of participants 1009 andenabled to make selections as shown in FIG. 5. When the user indicatesthat he or she is Done selecting Broadcast participants 1013, theselected participants are saved 1015, and the process returns to displaythe Virtual Entry screen 1003. The user may also cancel 1011 theoperation at any time and be returned to display the Virtual Entryscreen 1003.

Similarly, the user is also enabled to select a Selective StatusExclusion feature 1017 in which case the user is presented with a listof participants 1019 and enabled to make selections of thoseparticipants which the use wants to exclude as shown in FIG. 5. Thisexclusion pertains to the buddy list view such that, although User “A”is on User B's local buddy list, if User A designates User B to be onUser A's excluded list, when the User A logs-on to a current session,the broadcast which lets other users know that User A is now on-line, issent to all but the excluded User B (and other excluded participants).When the user indicates that he or she is Done 1023 selecting excludedparticipants 1023, the identity of the selected excluded participants issaved 1025, and the process returns to display the Virtual Entry screen1003. The user may also cancel 1021 the operation at any time and bereturned to display the Virtual Entry screen 1003. When the user hascompleted making feature selections from the Virtual Entry screen andclicks on the Done block 1027 (515 FIG. 5), all of the selections aresaved 1029 and the process returns to the Display Chat Options screen911.

As shown in FIG. 11, the Reflective Buddy List routine 1101 begins bydisplaying 1102 a Reflective Buddy List option screen. From this screen,a user may choose to cancel 1103 and be returned to the Set Chat Optionsscreen 911. A user is also enabled to make other selections as shown inFIG. 6, including whether or not to show the Reflective Buddy List 603,whether or not to show the on-line status of the participants listed 605and whether or not to dynamically update the list when a participantadds the user to participant's buddy list 607. When the user indicatesthat he or she is Done selecting features of the Reflective Buddy Listoption 1105, the selected features are saved and applied as appropriate1107 and the process returns to display the Set Chat Options screen 911.

As shown in FIG. 12, the Off Record Options routine 1201 begins bydisplaying 1202 an Off-Record Options screen (701 FIG. 7). From thisscreen, a user may choose to cancel 1203 and be returned to the Set ChatOptions screen 911. A user is also enabled to select off-recordparticipants 1205. If selected, a listing of users or participants isdisplayed 1207 and the user is enabled to select which participants areto be designated as “Off-Record” participants, i.e. those participantswho will be disabled from, inter alia, copying or printing the chatinput from the user. When the user indicates that he or she is Doneselecting Off-Record participants 1211, the selected participants aresaved 1213, and the process returns to display the Off-Record optionsscreen 1202. The user may also select to Cancel 1209 and return to theOff-Record options screen 1202. The user is also enabled to select otherOff-Record option features as shown in FIG. 7. All such selectablefeatures as shown in FIG. 7 (i.e. Encryption, Read-Only, Disable RemoteFunctions, and Notify of Off-Record Status) are not repeated in FIG. 12for the sake of simplicity. When the user indicates that he or she isDone 1215 selecting features from the Off-Record option screen 701, theselected features are saved and applied as appropriate 1217 and theprocess returns to display the Set Chat Options screen 911. To end theprocessing from the Select Options screen 401, the user can selectCancel 413 and be returned to the Chat Application Entry screen 301 fromwhich the user may again select the Cancel block 314.

In FIG. 13, there is shown an example of a Peer List implementation. Achat application user display screen 1301 includes, inter alia, astandard Buddy List 1306 and also an “Options” menu item which, whenselected, displays a pull-down menu 1301 with specific options. Thedisplayed options include “I Am Active”, “I Am Away” and “Show PeerList”. When the “Show Peer List” option is selected, for example byusing a screen pointer 1305, a “Peer List” 1307 is displayed. The PeerList 1307 shows all of the other chat application participants who haveadded the user to their Buddy List while the Buddy List shows all of thechat application participants whom the user has added to the user'sBuddy List. The Peer List display may be part of a standard displayalong with the Buddy List of the user or the Peer List may beselectively activated through a pull-down menu as illustrated.

FIG. 14 is an illustration showing a communications flow between an IMclient 1401, 1403, 1405 and its associated IM Server 1407. A bitmap 1408is included in the IM server database. The chat server database alsoincludes Buddy List and Peer List information for all chat participants.When a user adds an individual to the user's buddy list, thatinformation is maintained at the chat server and is accessed to provideboth a buddy list to a user and also a Reflective Buddy List or PeerList to the user. The bitmap 1408 indexes the local client to its peers.In the bitmap 1408, a “+” indicates an active state, and an “X”indicates a blocked state. The first column indicates the Peer, thesecond column indicates the enablement state for the reflective functionand the third column in the bitmap 1408 indicates the enablement statefor the broadcast function. As shown, Client A is enabled for reflectiveand broadcast communication with Client B as indicated by both “+” signsin the first row. The second row of the bitmap 1408 indicates thatClient A is enabled (“+”) for reflective function but disabled (“X”) forthe broadcast function with Client C. By default, in the presentexample, all newly mapped peer relationships are blocked for remotebroadcast and enabled for reflective view. Options for peerrelationships are selected and locally saved on Client A. IM Client Ainforms the IM server of all selection changes in the relationships withother clients such as Clients B and C. The IM server updates the peerrelationship bitmap 1408 and broadcasts based on the bitmap. In theillustration, upon Client A log-in, Client A would see both Client B andClient C in Client A's Reflective Buddy List because Client B and ClientC had previously added Client A to their Buddy List. Client B would seethe broadcast when Client A becomes active because Client A hadpreviously enabled Client B for broadcast reception (Bitmap 1408 row 1column 3). Client C would not see the broadcast when Client A becomesactive because Client A had previously disabled Client C from broadcastreception (Bitmap 1408 row 2 column 3).

The method and apparatus of the present invention has been described inconnection with a preferred embodiment as disclosed herein. Thedisclosed methodology may be implemented in a wide range of sequences,menus and screen designs to accomplish the desired results as hereinillustrated. Although an embodiment of the present invention has beenshown and described in detail herein, along with certain variantsthereof, many other varied embodiments that incorporate the teachings ofthe invention may be easily constructed by those skilled in the art, andeven included or integrated into a processor or CPU or other largersystem integrated circuit or chip. The disclosed methodology may also beimplemented solely or partially in program code stored in a portable orfixed memory device, such as so-called “Flash” memory, from which it maybe loaded into other memory devices and executed to achieve thebeneficial results as described herein. Accordingly, the presentinvention is not intended to be limited to the specific form set forthherein, but on the contrary, it is intended to cover such alternatives,modifications, and equivalents, as can be reasonably included within thespirit and scope of the invention.

1. A method for providing enhanced user participation in a chatapplication, said chat application being selectively operable wherein auser is enabled, after logging on to said chat application, to inputinformation at a user terminal and said information is caused to beimmediately displayed on display devices of other individualsparticipating in said chat application, said method comprising:providing a selection menu to said user prior to said logging on to saidchat application; and enabling said user to make a selection from saidmenu to disable predetermined functions of said other individuals withrespect to information input by said user after logging on to said chatapplication.
 2. The method as set forth in claim 1 and further includingencrypting said information input by said user.
 3. The method as setforth in claim 1 and further including enabling selections by said userto indicate selected ones of said other individuals wherein only saidpredetermined functions of said selected ones are disabled.
 4. Themethod as set forth in claim 3 and further including: presenting alisting of said other individuals for selection by said user wherebysaid predetermined functions are disabled only for user selectedindividuals.
 5. The method as set forth in claim 4 wherein said listingcomprises a reflective buddy list of said user, said reflective buddylist including only such of said individuals who have added said user tosaid individuals' buddy list.
 6. The method as set forth in claim 1 andfurther including notifying said other individuals of said disabledpredetermined functions implemented by said user with respect to saidother individuals.
 7. The method as set forth in claim 6 wherein saiduser is enabled to select only selected individuals to be notified ofsaid disabled functions.
 8. The method as set forth in claim 1 whereinsaid user selection is effective to cause said user input information tobe provided to said other individuals in a read-only mode.
 9. The methodas set forth in claim 1 wherein said predetermined functions include acopy function.
 10. The method as set forth in claim 1 wherein saidpredetermined functions include a cut and paste function.
 11. The methodas set forth in claim 1 wherein said predetermined functions include aprint function.
 12. A storage medium including machine readable codedindicia, said storage medium being selectively coupled to a readingdevice, said reading device being selectively coupled to processingcircuitry within a computer system, said reading device beingselectively operable to read said machine readable coded indicia andprovide program signals representative thereof, said program signalsbeing effective for providing enhanced user participation in a chatapplication, said chat application being selectively operable wherein auser is enabled, after logging on to said chat application, to inputinformation at a user terminal and said information is caused to beimmediately displayed on display devices of other individualsparticipating in said chat application, said program signals beingfurther effective for: providing a selection menu to said user prior tosaid logging on to said chat application; and enabling said user to makea selection from said menu to disable predetermined functions of saidother individuals with respect to information input by said user afterlogging on to said chat application.
 13. The medium as set forth inclaim 12 wherein said program signals are further effective forencrypting said information input by said user.
 14. The medium as setforth in claim 12 wherein said program signals are further effective forenabling selections by said user to indicate selected ones of said otherindividuals wherein only said predetermined functions of said selectedones are disabled.
 15. The medium as set forth in claim 14 wherein saidprogram signals are further effective for: presenting a listing of saidother individuals for selection by said user whereby said predeterminedfunctions are disabled only for user selected individuals.
 16. Themedium as set forth in claim 15 wherein said listing comprises areflective buddy list of said user, said reflective buddy list includingonly such of said individuals who have added said user to saidindividuals' buddy list.
 17. The medium as set forth in claim 12 whereinsaid program signals are further effective for notifying said otherindividuals of said disabled predetermined functions implemented by saiduser with respect to said other individuals.
 18. The medium as set forthin claim 17 wherein said user is enabled to choose only selectedindividuals to be notified of said disabled functions.
 19. The medium asset forth in claim 12 wherein said user selection is effective to causesaid user input information to be provided to said other individuals ina read-only mode.
 20. The medium as set forth in claim 12 wherein saidpredetermined functions include a copy function.
 21. The medium as setforth in claim 12 wherein said predetermined functions include a cut andpaste function.
 22. The medium as set forth in claim 12 wherein saidpredetermined functions include a print function.
 23. A system forproviding enhanced user participation in a chat application, said chatapplication being selectively operable wherein a user is enabled, afterlogging on to said chat application, to input information at a userterminal and said information is caused to be immediately displayed ondisplay devices of other individuals participating in said chatapplication, said system comprising: a chat server; a plurality of chatuser terminals, said chat user terminals and said chat server beingcoupled together through an interconnection network, each of said userterminals including a display device and a user input device, each ofsaid user terminals being selectively operable for providing a selectionmenu to said user prior to said logging on to said chat application bywhich said user is enabled to make a selection from said menu to disablepredetermined functions of said other individuals with respect toinformation input by said user after logging on to said chatapplication.